1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an electronic viewfinder and camera and, more particularly, to an electronic viewfinder for use with an electronic imaging still camera wherein the viewfinder may provide an image of the scene either electronically or optically.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electronic imaging still cameras have been proposed with electronic viewfinders in which the image data sensed by the camera is directed to a video display for viewing by the camera user or operator. The camera user may compose or frame the scene of which he desires to make a still recording of by viewing the screen of a video display to which image data is transferred directly from the camera's image sensing elements. In this manner, the camera user views the exact scene to be recorded in the way that the user of a single lens reflex camera is able to view the scene to be recorded directly through the camera's lens.
One disadvantage to the electronic viewfinder in an electronic imaging still camera occurs during the time in which the camera actually records the image data and is unable to simultaneously provide the image data to operate the video display of the viewfinder. The transmission of data from the image sensing element of the electronic imaging still camera for recording on a memory element requires a finite amount of time during which the electronic viewfinder is inoperative and thus the camera user is unable to tell what may be happening in the scene for this finite length of time which may be in the order of 0.1 to 1 seconds.
Therefore, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an electronic viewfinder for an electronic imaging still camera wherein the viewfinder may be operated in an electronic viewing mode during the time required for the camera user to frame and compose a scene to be photographed and in an optic viewing mode during the time required to transmit image data from the image sensing elements to the image recording elements.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an electronic viewfinder for an electronic imaging still camera in which the user may selectively operate the viewfinder in either an electronic viewing mode in which image data sensed by the camera's image sensing elements are transmitted to provide a video display of the scene to the camera user or an optic viewing mode in which the viewer may directly view the scene through optically transmissive elements.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. The invention accordingly comprises the mechanism and system possessing the construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure.